iPad GoodReader vs. Air Sharing Pro?

tklaus · 04-16-2010, 06:38 PM

Hi all,

I've had my iPad for a week now. I bought it primarily as an e-reader to replace my Kindle DX (which is great for books, but not so great for technical PDFs or doing web-based research). So far, I've settled on iBook for non DRM-ePubs, the Kindle app for all my Kindle books, and GoodReader for everything else.

GoodReader has all of the main features I'm looking for in a reader app, like file management support, ease of getting files onto the iPad, and support for a wide variety of formats. Then I saw Air Sharing Pro, which on the surface seems very similar to GoodReader. I've read a few reviews that stated that Air Sharing has a 'fancier interface' than GoodReader, but not many details on what that means. It also has printing, but I doubt I would use that.

Anyone tried out Air Sharing? I would have tried it out myself, but $10 seems like a lot for something I may play with for 10 minutes only to realize that it doesn't offer anything over GoodReader.

Thanks.

scottjl · 04-16-2010, 06:49 PM

AFAIK Air Sharing Pro is more targeted at making your iPad a wireless jump drive. I believe it uses the built-in PDF features where GoodReader has developed their own.

There is, or used to be, a freebie version of Air Sharing, might want to look for it and check it out. I remember trying it on my iPhone years ago, finding little use for it, and ditching it.

scottjl · 04-16-2010, 06:57 PM

Just checked out the iTunes store. Looks like the free version is gone. One of the reviews of Air Sharing Pro HD indicates that it uses the iPad's native PDF viewer, so GoodReader is one up on that. The docs from Air Sharing Pro state that it will print any of the built-in supported file types. I dunno, if I uploaded a document into ASP and had it on my network with a mac running printer sharing, I might as well just print from the Mac and be done with it.

Also, the iPhone Pro version is $10 as well. Since iPhone apps work on the iPad, I'd be more inclined to get the iPhone version and use it on my phone and my iPad. Rather than buy two separate versions for $20.

My advice, spend the $1 for GoodReader, you won't regret it.

04-16-2010, 06:38 PM	#1
tklaus Connoisseur Posts: 71 Karma: 131 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: San Jose, CA Device: iPad, Kindle DX	GoodReader vs. Air Sharing Pro? Hi all, I've had my iPad for a week now. I bought it primarily as an e-reader to replace my Kindle DX (which is great for books, but not so great for technical PDFs or doing web-based research). So far, I've settled on iBook for non DRM-ePubs, the Kindle app for all my Kindle books, and GoodReader for everything else. GoodReader has all of the main features I'm looking for in a reader app, like file management support, ease of getting files onto the iPad, and support for a wide variety of formats. Then I saw Air Sharing Pro, which on the surface seems very similar to GoodReader. I've read a few reviews that stated that Air Sharing has a 'fancier interface' than GoodReader, but not many details on what that means. It also has printing, but I doubt I would use that. Anyone tried out Air Sharing? I would have tried it out myself, but $10 seems like a lot for something I may play with for 10 minutes only to realize that it doesn't offer anything over GoodReader. Thanks.

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04-16-2010, 06:49 PM	#2
scottjl Reader of Books Posts: 1,632 Karma: 2697 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	AFAIK Air Sharing Pro is more targeted at making your iPad a wireless jump drive. I believe it uses the built-in PDF features where GoodReader has developed their own. There is, or used to be, a freebie version of Air Sharing, might want to look for it and check it out. I remember trying it on my iPhone years ago, finding little use for it, and ditching it.

04-16-2010, 06:57 PM	#3
scottjl Reader of Books Posts: 1,632 Karma: 2697 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	Just checked out the iTunes store. Looks like the free version is gone. One of the reviews of Air Sharing Pro HD indicates that it uses the iPad's native PDF viewer, so GoodReader is one up on that. The docs from Air Sharing Pro state that it will print any of the built-in supported file types. I dunno, if I uploaded a document into ASP and had it on my network with a mac running printer sharing, I might as well just print from the Mac and be done with it. Also, the iPhone Pro version is $10 as well. Since iPhone apps work on the iPad, I'd be more inclined to get the iPhone version and use it on my phone and my iPad. Rather than buy two separate versions for $20. My advice, spend the $1 for GoodReader, you won't regret it.

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